I Want to Understand
by dignifiedPianist
Summary: Loki shows up at Thor's door with a suitcase, and Thor reluctantly let's him stay. It's going fine until Thor comes home earlier than expected and walks in on Loki doing something no one was supposed to know about. M for future chapters. (I suck at summaries and titles, sue me.)
1. Chapter 1

Thor was roused from his nap by a very insistent banging on his front door. "Thor!" He heard faintly from behind it, before the knocking resumed ever more persistently, giving the impression that if the door were not answered soon it would be broken down and the apartment stormed. The blonde groaned and got up stiffly, making a note to himself for what had to be the millionth time to nap in his bed instead of on the couch because it simply wasn't big enough to fit the huge man comfortably. "I'm coming!" He snapped perhaps a little too loudly in the direction of the ruckus, which stopped almost immediately now that it knew it had gotten his attention. Thor stretched and took a minute to fully awaken himself before proceeding to see what the hell could be so important. Upon opening the door, he was greeted with the sight of one very irritable younger brother, who shot him a pointed glare and crossed his arms.

"Took you long enough! I must have been out here at least twenty minutes. Your neighbors were getting very cross with me." His tone implied that he really didn't care what Thor's neighbors thought of him, he was just making the argument for emphasis on how long he had been kept waiting, and if anything it had served to annoy him even more. He opened his mouth to begin his usual tirade about things Thor shouldn't do, but the blonde cut him off with a sharp "Alright! Come in, geez." A self-satisfied smirk was his only reply as he turned around and retreated back into his apartment, sagging back down on the couch and not bothering to show Loki in.

It was a pretty common occurrence for his brother to drop by unannounced like this, maybe a few times a month he would show up at Thor's door and crash on his couch for a few days. It was hardly a bother, he barely ate any food and usually stayed out of the way. Sometimes he would even do the grocery shopping because Thor didn't have a certain kind of tea he liked, or he had a craving that couldn't be filled by the blonde's poorly stocked refrigerator. He would hear a complaint about it but it meant that he didn't have to do it himself, so whatever. "If you're hungry I don't have anything right now. You'll have to cook for yourself or order something." He called behind him, eyes already closed and on their way back to sleep.

"Why don't we go out for something? I'll pay." Was the cool reply he received, followed by the sound of little wheels rolling across his hardwood floor. He opened one eye and peered to see what the hell that was, and realized with mild shock that it was a suitcase. This got his attention, and he ignored the proposition of eating out in favor of staring at the luggage. "What the hell is that." It came out very bluntly, because this was not part of the unspoken arrangement they had. If Loki ever brought anything with him it was an overnight bag that held a couple changes of clothes that said he just needed somewhere to sleep. But this conveyed an intention to stay, for at least a week or two judging by the size of the suitcase.

"It's a suitcase, Thor. Are you blind?" The snarky reply earned Loki a dirty look which he ignored. Thor started to question him about what the hell did he look like, a boarding service? But Loki spoke over him with a very terse "Father kicked me out." Which shut Thor up pretty quick. A few seconds of silenced passed before Thor grumbled and pushed himself off the couch, mumbling something along the lines of "that doesn't explain why you show up here" but he had decided to let it go for now, snatched his keys up from the end table and headed down the hallway, not waiting to see if Loki was following him. "Where do you want to eat?"

"So how long do you plan on staying with me?" Thor had to nearly shout over the loud music blasting around them. Loki shifted nervously and picked at the basket of food in front of him, clearly regretting his decision to eat at a club.

"I don't know." Came the almost inaudible reply, and Thor had read his lips more than actually heard the words. He noted that Loki was eating less than usual, and wondered if maybe it was just poor quality food or if something was actually bothering him. Thor wasn't the most empathetic person, but he could make the connection between his brother being kicked out of their parent's house and him being upset about it. He had never particularly liked staying there after Thor had moved out, but it had been convenient to not have to pay rent and to not have to move all of his belongings. Odin had stopped paying as much attention to him as well, so he had mostly been able to come and go as he pleased. It probably hadn't taken much for their father to find reason to get rid of him, though, and the blonde didn't know if he was upset about being turned out on his own, or because of the reason behind it. Whatever it was, it had the raven haired male pretty distracted tonight, which Thor noted as Loki scanned the crowd of dancing people with much more interest than he would normally display. The thinner man mumbled something that Thor didn't catch before sliding out of his seat at the two person booth and making his way over to join the mass of bodies.

Thor watched his younger brother sidle up to some pretty young thing and give her that sly look that had never failed to reel a woman in. In return she displayed a very clear interest in him, pressing against his lithe form as they swayed to the deafening music. Thor hadn't know his brother liked this sort of thing. He had always been a little antisocial but hey, people could grow and change, right? It was a good thing, he thought, as he watched the tall man reciprocate the interest he was receiving. It was probably creepy watching your brother flirt, though, he decided, and shook himself out of it to turn his attention back to his half eaten meal.

A short while later Loki returned with a slip of paper that had some numbers scrawled on it, and a flush in his cheeks. He looked significantly more calm than he had since showing up earlier, and was wearing a very Loki-ish grin now that the edge was taken off . "Ready to head back?" He asked, and Thor nodded an affirmative, getting up to leave hastily as Loki stuffed the girls number in his pocket.

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**A/N I am not going to have any set schedule for writing more chapters to this, and I can't guarantee it will ever get finished.**

**No mentions of vampire stuff in this chapter and possibly not in the next one, but don't you worry it will definitely get in there. Also there will eventually be some at least somewhat intense bloodplay. So if that's your thing, then yay! If not, well you don't have to read it.**

**I know this chapter is pretty boring but I promise it'll get interesting later c: And I'll probably throw in a couple smut scenes along the way to keep you hooked.**

**If anyone is interested in being a beta for future chapters and/or future fics I write, that would be so great.**

**And as usual any/all comments are so very greatly appreciated, I'll love you forever if you take the time to drop a note with praise or constructive criticism. 3**


	2. Chapter 2

Thor's alarm clock beeped at him loudly the next morning, earning it a smack to turn it off. God, that tone was annoying to wake up to every morning, but he kept it because at least it insured that he would actually get up. It took him a few minutes, but eventually the blonde rolled out of bed, making groggy noises and shuffling but awake nonetheless. He opened his door and was immediately assaulted by the smell of coffee wafting through his tiny apartment, and he groaned in thanks. This was one of the reasons he let Loki hang around. Thor made his way down the hall to the kitchenette where the smell originated from, and which was currently occupied by a fully dressed and looking stuck up as ever Loki. Thor had never understood how his brother could be such a morning person, and it pissed him off sometimes because he clearly was not. However the mug of coffee thrust into his hands without a word made it okay and he sat down at the table to enjoy it in silence. Upon sipping it he was not surprised to learn that it was already made exactly the way Thor liked it; with way more sugar than was called for.

Loki let him wake up for about ten more minutes before breaking the peaceful silence. "Do you ever comb your hair?" A jibe at his particularly bad bedhead this morning, to which Thor replied with a grunt.

"Are you going to tell me what you did to piss dad off?" It was something that had been itching at the blondes curiosity the previous night, and he really didn't see why it should be such a big deal. Even if he had been doing drugs or something, Thor wouldn't judge. But trying to press the issue the night before had only served to make Loki irritable again and they had both ended the night early in frustration with the other.

"No." It was curt and matter-of-fact, implying that Loki would hear no more of this conversation. Thor snorted but figured it probably wasn't worth it and got up to set his half empty mug on the counter, before heading back to his own room to start the morning. He had to go to work soon.

Loki waited until Thor was out of sight before standing and moving to wash the cup, his brow knitted in annoyance. If his brother was this persistent, he would probably go directly to the source and call Odin shortly. And the raven haired man didn't know if he would tell his son about what the freak had done this time or not, but either way he had to put a rest to it somehow. Make something up, maybe. He dried his hands and leaned back against the sink, hoping that things would blow over. He didn't intend to stay here permanently, but he would have to figure something out because he couldn't go back home. And considering how careless he must have gotten for Odin to find out about it, it wasn't long before that idiot stumbled in at a bad time, at which point he would have no one left. He would have to tiptoe around for the next couple weeks.

He realized he had been grumbling to himself in frustration when Thor stepped out of his room, now dressed as well, and grabbed a bag from where it lay against the wall. "I'm going to work." He announced as he walked by and left the apartment. Good riddance. Loki had some time to think in peace, and knew Thor shouldn't be home until around three. It was now about eight-thirty, so that gave him a little over six hours. Six hours by himself, to either think or engage in his private activities or maybe just do nothing. Either way it was nice to have a space to yourself, something he could never get with his parents always hanging over him.

But to be honest, he wasn't feeling very nice about his fortuitous situation, or about anything in general. Upon examining his hand he noted that a grey pallor was seeping in to his skin. Christ, he looked bad enough on a good day, with a paleness befitting of a corpse. But it had been a couple weeks. And his previous attempt at fixing his situation had ended terribly, and he hadn't even been able to go through with it before being very rudely interrupted. Loki sighed, he hadn't wanted to put himself at such risk so soon after forcing his way into Thor's home, but it couldn't be helped. Either this or he endure his brothers concern over looking to be in poor health.

So with an air of exasperation he fished the scrap of paper from the night before out of the pocket of his dirty jeans and punched the numbers into his phone.

12:09, Loki glanced at the clock as the doorbell rang. He had plenty of time to pull this off before Thor came home. He went to the door quickly, opening it and flashing a rather friendly smile at the girl waiting on the other side. She barely had enough time to grin back at him before being rushed inside. By this point in the day Loki had allowed himself to become very distracted by the empty hunger eating away at him, and the resulting fatigue. By normal standards it really wasn't bad, he knew some went months between eating, but he hadn't had to resort to that in years, and was very used to a steady, frequent diet. He had known this would be necessary last night, and it was the only reason he had proposed they go to a club; so he could hunt. It was such an ugly word, but the easiest way to describe it. He had spied out for a healthy young woman who looked like she could be coerced into this. It had been his intention to wait a few more days and settle in, learn when he could do this safest, but any longer and he would probably bite Thor's arm off just for being Thor. Hunger made him unreasonably irritable.

"Right this way." He purred at the girl, leading her to the couch and seating himself next to her, more closely than was necessary. She had put perfume on, but not so much that it could cloak her natural scent, for which he was very glad. She smelled rather warm, and didn't have that natural perfume like some women. She gave off the scent of food, pure and unmasked, and a small inhale had him salivating more than normal. "So, do you remember what I asked you about last night?" He asked her in a smooth voice, meant to be soothing, but when she nodded it still looked a little nervous.

Last night while dancing, he had managed to steer the conversation towards kinks, by strongly suggesting that he would like to try some out on her. She had been clearly interested in anything involving the two of them together, and it had been a simple thing to bring up his own 'kink', and get her to agree to try it. Of course, feeding wasn't normally a sexual experience for him, but it was easy to pretend.

"Are you still up for it?" He purred again, because he wouldn't have her backing out now. Hell, he would sleep with her when it was over if she wanted, as long as he got a good meal out of it. His feigned interest in her was apparently enough to convince her, and as soon as she gave the affirmative he gave her a wide grin, already reaching for the pre-packaged wet wipe and small bottle of mouthwash.

After sanitizing the area of skin he would be working with and assuring her that he had done this many times before, there was nothing to be worried about, he had positioned her to face away from him so he could get a clear bite over the shoulder. Loki was poised and ready with his teeth just centimeters away from her skin, the skin that was radiating heat and making it very hard for him to hold back long enough to whisper soothing words to calm her unsteady breathing. Yes, he understood that it was disconcerting to let someone do something like this. But at this moment he simply didn't _care_ about her misgivings, and was only waiting so that she didn't jerk and cause him to injure an important tendon or artery.

12:52 he glanced at the time yet again, knowing he still had plenty of time but really wishing this could just get over with so he could stop running this risk. It had taken longer than it should have just to get this far. Finally he felt her calm completely under his caresses, and without another moment of hesitation, he closed his mouth around her skin and bit.

Having sharpened themselves in anticipation, his teeth sank into her skin more easily than one would expect. It only took a few seconds before the surface gave way with a snap, and he took his teeth away from the wound, satisfied that it was deep enough to produce what he needed. From there, he ran his tongue over the quickly collecting pool of blood and groaned aloud when it coated his tongue. _Yes._ He was so caught up already that he barely registered the girl gasping next to his ear from the pain, but it was something that would quickly grow annoying and he knew he would have to go to extra effort to counteract the pain for her. So with an internal eye roll he swept his tongue up the unmarred column of her throat, smearing her blood across it faintly, and nipped under her jaw.

It was enough to distract her for now, and he turned his attention to the string of blood now threatening to run onto her clothes. Loki couldn't help noting how much he loved that singular trail of liquid in contrast against her skin, there was just something so satisfying about seeing bright, pure blood pooling or dripping across clean skin. He lapped it up before it could ruin the fabric and then returned to the wound, sealing his lips over it so no more could escape and giving a generous suck. The liquid complied to him eagerly, rushing out to fill a good portion of his mouth. He swallowed and broke away to gasp in the euphoria it induced, choking out a "_Fuck, yes._" Before latching back on and repeating the action several times.

The repeated sucking was enough to cause pleasure for the girl as well, and he vaguely felt her head lean back against his shoulder somewhere in the back of his mind, the small part still keeping track of his surroundings. It heard the pants and small noises fall from her lips, and it was very glad to hear them. It was no fun if both of them didn't enjoy it. Had he not been so far gone he might have also heard the front door being opened and shut, or the heavy footsteps that drew nearer to where he sat, essentially sucking the life out of this girl. But reckless as he was, he let the other presence go unnoticed until it happened to step on the extremely squeaky floorboard. And stupid as he was, he looked up, realizing too late that Thor hadn't seen until he moved, wouldn't have known if he had just kept going. Idiot, you still had a chance to get away with it.

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**Hey, look at me, I wrote another chapter in an hour! :D But don't expect this often, my muse is flowing uncharacteristically well tonight. Second chapter is almost twice as long as the first, and more interesting. We get into the vampire stuff this time, and this is the part where if you think the way I write it is creepy or something, you should really stop here. It's gonna get more graphic (creepy?) in future chapters**

**I am significantly more pleased with this chapter than the first one. The first one was just kind of setting up for this one, a little bit, or maybe it was a preface. I dunno. Anyway the way I go about writing vampires and their point of view? Yeah, it's not exactly humane, I guess you could say. Like it or not, humans are food for vampires. It's the vampire's attitude that determines how he talks about it. And we all know Loki, he's not all about equality.**

**Also yes, I have the tendency to flip between Thor and Loki's POV when I think the situation calls for it. Either I'll stick mainly to Thor, or do both of them equally. Because yknow I don't want to be omniscient, but it's kinda stupid if you just throw Loki in there occasionally. So probably equal.**

**And yes I know, I ramble on in my notes. Anything important I'll put up at the top, so if you don't want to read my crap notes I don't blame you.**

**Comments always greatly appreciated. 3 I'd really like to know how you guys respond to the way I write vampires. I'll do it from the donor's side, too, in future chapters.**


	3. Chapter 3

At first he thought he was interrupting something. What was he supposed to think, when he saw Loki seated behind the pretty girl from the club, his mouth to her neck and she leaning back against him, expression clearly showing pleasure. He tried to leave the room and give his brother some space, but didn't get farther than one step when he was noticed and Loki's eyes rose to meet his. He tried to whisper a quick "Sorry!" and continue his retreat but before he got the sound out, his brain registered the splash of red oozing from the girl's neck and painting his brothers mouth, rendering him silent and standing there gaping like a moron in cluelessness.

"Thor." Loki greeted him in an eerily calm voice, one that Thor didn't find at all appropriate to use when you get caught _sucking someone's blood._

Loki didn't break eye contact, and Thor couldn't, so they just stared at each other for a minute that stretched out far too long for the blonde's liking. His attention was only (thankfully) drawn away when the girl came out of her reverie and looked around while blinking repeatedly as if trying to wake up. Apparently noticing that Loki was done, she got up from the couch a little unsteadily, and put a hand over the wound still trickling blood. "Um, I guess I'll see myself out…" She murmured when neither of the men said or did anything directed at her, easily grasping the message that she shouldn't stay any longer. "Call me?" She flashed a hopeful smile to Loki, who only raised his chin in her general direction to acknowledge he had heard her. Her smile faltered at his sudden disinterest and she moved to shuffle past the large blonde, who barely spared her a glance, unable to look away from the piercing green eyes still concentrated on him.

The door opened and closed behind him and Thor was still unable to speak for a few minutes, mostly because that ridiculously calm gaze was still spearing him, and it completely muddled up any reasonable thought he tried to form. It was clear that Loki wasn't going to utter another word before he did, and was contented to sit here in the most uncomfortable silence Thor had ever experienced for as long as it cared to last. Maybe he could just leave, would his brother let him do that?

He inched to his left experimentally, and his brother's now very unsettling gaze followed him, but that was it. So he took another step. Still not a word to stop him. It appeared that he would be allowed to escape this most awkward of situations, so that's exactly what he did, shifting around the wall opposite the couch in order to stay as far away as possible from the man on his couch whose lips were still stained with the blood of another. He made it to the hallway with those green eyes still following his every move before turning tail and bolting the rest of the short distance to his room and slamming the door behind him. Once inside he fell backwards onto his bed and immediately let his thoughts reel, trying to make sense of what he had just witnessed.

Outside his door Loki had gotten up and gone to the kitchen to clean his face, and then returned to the living room and plucked a book from the shelf before retaking his spot on the couch. He never lost that calm, completely collected expression and began to read the tome as if nothing had just happened.

A half hour later, and Thor was still laying sprawled across his bed. He hadn't moved since coming in here, he hadn't thought to, because he was pretty freaked out right now. Because who _does_ that? He had spent the last half hour trying to rationalize the situation for himself so that maybe he wouldn't have to have one of those uncomfortable long talks that always ended up being more dramatic than necessary, because he didn't know how to navigate them properly, while Loki always sat there looking like he knew everything already, and it just got him pissed. To be truthful he hadn't gotten very far in figuring out what he had just seen, and had let his mind go blank for about ten minutes because he had hit a dead end. But so far, he had to figure that either

A) This was some weird, stupid fetish that his brother had picked up. He had heard about bloodplay becoming more popular since the influx of sexualized vampires in the media. Or that's what the news said, at least.

Or B) Loki actually believed he was one of those real life vampires. It's not as if Thor absolutely refuted the possibility that those kinds of things existed, but open-minded as he was it was one thing to believe there are such things as vampires, and quite another thing to believe that your brother was one. It was just _weird_.

Either way he really wished Loki hadn't brought those kinds of activities into his home. Yeah, he had come home early, and yeah he knew that the man had probably assumed he would never even have known. But that didn't stop Thor from being just a little indignant that he had had to witness whatever it was.

The blonde sat up in his bed with a huff. The shock was more or less gone by now, and he was left frustrated at his brother for doing these kinds of things. He didn't want to deal with whatever explanation Loki had for him, but he didn't want to hide in his room all day. He was already really bored. But he couldn't go to a bar, it was too early in the day, and if he came home drunk he would get an earful about it the next morning. He couldn't call up a friend, because the only thing he could contribute to conversation would be the bizarre incident that had taken place this afternoon. They didn't need any groceries. Thor supposed he could go see a movie, it would kill a few hours. Upon checking his phone he saw that the action movie he had been seeing previews for was now playing in theaters. It looked pretty cool, lots of explosions, something that he wouldn't be bored watching. And there was a showing in about twenty minutes. Okay, good. Convenient.

Making the decision to avoid his brother for a few more hours, Thor grabbed some loose cash from his bedside table and looked for his shoes before realizing he had never taken them off after coming home. He then opened the door and charged down the hallway as quick as he could while still walking, and threw a brisk "I'll be back later." over his shoulder. If Loki responded he didn't see or hear it before he was shutting the door behind him.

Approximately two and a half hours later, Thor was back and leaning his forehead against the door, not wanting to go in but having no excuse to stay away longer. He just really wasn't in the mood to talk, and the usual curiosity he held was nonexistent in this current situation. To be quite honest, he didn't even care what Loki had been doing anymore. If the man really did believe he was a vampire, then that was his problem. If he didn't, well hopefully he would be courteous enough in the future to not make Thor aware of his unusual activities.

He knew he wouldn't be lucky enough to escape confrontation a third time. Which was probably a good thing, because he knew it wouldn't just be forgotten and swept under the rug. Regardless of how much he wished otherwise. So taking a breath to steel himself to get through whatever storm may or may not be raging in Loki's head, Thor turned the key in the lock and pushed the front door open to find nothing but the smell of less than fresh pizza. Huh. He didn't know what he had been expecting to greet him, but he was pretty certain there hadn't been pizza in the house when he left.

The blonde walked down the hall and saw the source of the aroma laying open in a box on the table. So Loki had ordered pizza? Except it was untouched, and the raven haired male rarely ate the stuff anyway.

"I ordered it for you. But it's probably cold by now." The cool voice came from the couch and nearly made Thor flinch, because for a moment he had forgotten that's where Loki always was. He was too concentrated on the delicious looking sustenance calling to him.

Glancing over at his brother he saw nothing out of the ordinary, just his brother half curled up in the corner of the couch and reading one of his books, holding a half full glass of wine in his off hand as if the story was so enthralling that he had forgotten to put it down.

"Uh, thanks." Thor replied warily as he grabbed a plate and filled it with a couple slices. He was waiting for Loki to bring it up, to start that inevitable dramatic conversation, or to at least give some casual excuse for his behavior. But either he had forgotten already that Thor was there because he was just so captivated with his book, or he was as content with silence as he had been while impaling the blonde under his stare earlier.

Thinking perhaps that maybe he was off the hook after all, Thor lifted the pizza to his mouth. Loki was right, it had gotten cold. It still wasn't too bad though, and he had barely started to chew when the smooth voice cut the silence again.

"You know as well as I do that we'll have to talk sometime."

Shit. Thor didn't have a reply that would get him out of it so he just grunted around his mouthful of pizza and sat down at the small round table to eat his late lunch/early dinner that he guessed had been a peace offering. A damn good one, too. Even if Thor was thundering, good pizza was the surefire way to get him to shut up and cool down.

Loki was rather impressed with himself for being able to keep up this calm exterior. Initially, he had tried to immerse himself in the book and pretend that Thor hadn't come home early, and he wasn't about to be kicked out of two houses in the same week. It hadn't really worked, but he had managed to distract himself enough to quell that small amount of anxiety that was pooling in his stomach. He had even kept his cool after Thor had practically stormed out of the apartment, leaving Loki to wonder if he was monumentally pissed, still completely freaked, or just avoiding the smaller man like the plague now. About an hour and a half later, he had managed to calm himself down for real, and was able to face the fact that what would happen was gonna happen whether he denied it or not. That didn't mean he couldn't try to have some influence on it, though, he had thought while dialing the pizza place his brother usually preferred and having one delivered. When it had arrived Loki was rather pleased with himself, thinking that maybe he could talk his way out of this one like he had been too startled to do properly with Odin.

But then fifteen minutes later and the anticipation was getting the better of him, and the man had decided he needed a little something to calm the nerves. So he had poured himself a little bit out of the bottle he kept stashed away in Thor's cabinet for when he dropped by. Luckily wine just wasn't to the blonde's liking, so he was able to leave it here safely. Which was good, because he bought the expensive stuff. And he would be broke by now if Thor drank it instead of beer.

Approximately twenty minutes after that and the alcohol had taken a little bit of the edge off, but it threatened to return when he heard Thor entering and approaching. He offered a cool explanation to the mysterious food that had appeared in the blonde's absence, and watched as it was indulged in. He heaved an internal breath of relief and gathered himself so he wouldn't sound shaky when he finally called attention to the elephant in the room.

Luckily, he succeeded in keeping his calm. Even more luckily, Thor didn't blow up right then and there. Although Loki had been expecting more than just a grunt. In fact, he was a little peeved that that was the only reaction he received. _"Wow, Thor, thank you for that_ wonderful_ insight to your current mood. I know you hadn't noticed but you're killing me over here."_ He thought to himself sourly, mouth twitching down as if to frown but still frozen in the expression Loki was forcing outward.

It had never taken anyone this long to eat three slices of pizza, ever. Nearly fourty minutes later and Loki was just about at his breaking point from a mix of anticipation and total annoyance at how long Thor was dragging this out. Finally, _finally_ the great oaf wiped his face with a napkin and threw it down on the plate, signaling that he was finished. The raven haired man watched as his brother threw the paper plate away, stood there for a moment in indecision, and then trudged his way over to sit opposite him on the couch. Loki tucked a bookmark in the tome and put it aside, setting the glass next to it and then turning back to show that Thor had his full attention, and he wasn't going to be difficult about this. He knew how uncharacteristic of him it was to be so submissive in situations like this; usually he would lash out instead of taking his punishment quietly, but he really didn't want to be thrown out. He didn't have anywhere else to stay at the moment, and honestly, he did like it here. Thor was an easy person to live with. He would do what he could to keep his place here, even if it was temporary.

Neither of them spoke for a few minutes, both at a loss for how to begin such an awkward conversation. Loki kept his eyes on Thor, while Thor looked around abashedly, clearly not wanting to match the intense stare.

Loki almost jumped when the blonde finally spoke in a somewhat strained tone. "I'm guessing this is why dad kicked you out."

Not the most promising starter. Loki swallowed thickly and nodded.

"Don't you have an explanation for me?"

Loki was a bit taken aback, having expected Thor to ask questions to which he could respond with small things. He didn't have a full explanation prepared that would make any reasonable sense to a sane person.

"I, um. You'd think I'm crazy."

Thor snorted. "It's not like you can make this look much worse." The blonde sighed and finally turned to meet Loki's eyes. "Let me guess, you're a vampire." His tone was mocking, probably to try and lighten the atmosphere that had settled over them, but Loki could hear the edge of nervousness that said it was the conclusion Thor had come to, but which he was really hoping wasn't true.

". . . Yes." Loki answered bluntly, knowing that alone wouldn't convince his brother of his situation.

". . . You're serious?"

"Yes."

"Great." Thor let out a laugh that said he didn't think any of this was funny at all. "And that girl earlier, you were drinking her blood?"

"Yes, Thor." It came out condescending, even though he was trying to give the blonde a little leeway. It wasn't exactly normal news.

The smaller man's tone earned him a glare before speaking again. "So, uh, you're the stuff of legends and all that?"

"Not really."

"Then what in hell are you?"

Loki could tell Thor was a little frustrated, just because he didn't know what was going on and Loki did, and it was always that way. "It's really quite simple. I'm not human. My system works differently than yours." Perhaps if he kept this simple, Thor would understand. It really wasn't hard to grasp, just weird for the average person. "I don't produce everything I need to keep my body running properly. There's a certain kind of energy that I don't have enough of. The only place this energy exists in a high enough concentration to be of any use is in human blood."

"You can't get a pill or something?"

"No, Thor. It's not something that will show up in medical tests. And even if it did, they don't make medicine that will work." His tone was a little sharp now, implying that of course he had tried that in the beginning, and did his brother really think that if he could just 'get a pill' he would have any need for the actions he engaged in?

"So how much do you need?" Well, it was a little surprising that he had accepted the premise so easily and was now moving onto the details seamless. Surprising, but good.

"Depends on the person. I've gotten used to one meal about every two weeks."

Thor looked just a little appalled. At what, he wasn't sure. "Do you really have to call it a _meal_, just so casually like that? It's not like you're sitting down for spaghetti, Loki, you were _literally_ drinking some poor girl's blood!"

The raven haired male rolled his eyes. "Whether you like it or not, Thor, it is my food. For me it _is_ just like eating a regular meal, except it tastes twenty times better."

"Ugh, don't say that."

"And it incites a feeling you wouldn't understand."

"What the hell?"

"Never mind, Thor. I don't expect you to get it."

The blonde responded to this with a stern expression. "I'm trying, aren't I? I'd like to see you have this pushed on you."

Loki just blew an audible puff of air out his nose.

Another minute of silence followed before Thor spoke again, this time rather tentatively. "If I hadn't walked in, you wouldn't have killed her, would you?"

"No, Thor. I'm not a monster. I've never killed anyone."

The blonde let out a breath it sounded like he had been holding and Loki rolled his eyes again because wow, thanks for the vote of confidence in his character.

"And before you ask, none of the legends are true. Garlic, mirrors, all rubbish."

Thor just nodded and looked around again, and it gave Loki the impression that the conversation was over, at least for now. It had gone better than expected. There hadn't even been any yelling, and that was kind of saying something. Maybe Thor had still been freaked out more than the smaller man had thought.

The atmosphere had settled enough that it was more or less comfortable again, and Thor was at ease enough to switch on the television. Loki picked his book back up and resumed reading, the wine glass mostly forgotten now that the anxiety had gone. They didn't bother with dinner, Thor just getting another few slices of pizza when he got hungry again and Loki not being bothered by hunger at all, his own kind of meal earlier that day had probably been enough for about thirty six hours before conventional hunger would set in. They passed the rest of the evening by only talking to each other for little things that didn't incite conversation, and both turned in early for the second night in a row.

Thor felt a little better as soon as he was out of Loki's company, and went to bed a little confused about it all still but pacified enough to get to sleep after the normal amount of tossing and turning. Loki was unconscious as soon as he found a comfortable position, and slept like a baby through the night, knowing he was off the hook.

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**A/N: No blood drinking in this chapter, just Thor being confused and avoiding conflict and then coming to terms with it. Also gives you guys more of an idea of how I think about vampires. It's not particularly exciting, I suppose, compared to the last one, but it's not totally boring. It is longer, though, longer than I had intended and probably about as long as my chapters are going to get. Unless I surprised myself again, who knows?**

**At this moment, I'm fairly pleased with this chapter. It flowed out much easier than I thought, and I didn't think the product was too bad. However it's 3 am and I'm far too tired to proofread it to see if it's actually shit.**

**As usual, comments, praise, constructive criticism all greatly appreciated. It would make me very happy if you guys let me know what you think of the plot, my writing style, anything you have an opinion on since I'm still a new writer and seeking validation to continue.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: More blood drinking this chapter, yay~. From the donor's perspective this time, so you don't have to read Loki's perverted and bad thought's just yet. But you'll get more of that next chapter if I follow the outline I have in place.**

**I didn't go back over this and proofread, so if when you're reading it, you see typos or grammar mistakes and just can't handle it, go ahead and tell me and I'll find and fix them because they bother me a lot.**

**Overall I'm pleased with this chapter. It might not be as smooth as the other ones, but it's not terrible. And as a side note, comments are good. They restore my faith in my own writing and give me the drive to get new chapters out quicker. So seriously, favorites, subscriptions, comments, I'll write more chapters a lot faster.**

**So yeah that's probly it.**

* * *

"Loki! I'm home!" Thor announced into the apartment as he kicked the door shut behind him, balancing the items sticking out of the grocery bags he held so they wouldn't fall. "You don't have another poor girl in there, do you?" He sounded joking, but they both knew the only reason he had said something at all upon arriving home was that so if Loki _did_ have a girl again, Thor would at least have some warning this time.

He heard a soft chuckle from the living room and was answered in a slightly amused voice. "No, Thor. You're safe." Upon rounding the corner he saw his brother exactly as he had been left this morning when the blonde left for work, curled up in the corner of the couch with a mug of tea and a book. The only thing that had changed was the tome in question, and the blonde couldn't help chuckling at the sedentary habits his brother had. It was boring. But some of his old girlfriends had liked spending their days the same way, and some part of him found it endearing.

Thor set the bags down on the kitchen table before picking items out to find a place for them in the fridge. It was a bother to actually have a fully stocked refrigerator, but the blonde figured that if Loki intended to stay longer than usual it was worth it. Considering how little he ate, it was ridiculous to fuss over it, but apparently it was something about a lifestyle he had become accustomed to? Whatever that meant.

"How was your day?" Thor's thoughts were interrupted by a surprisingly curious question, and he peered into the other room with a look of confusion. Loki didn't make small talk. Especially not small talk that was befitting of a couple. He had even been torn away from his book long enough to look into the kitchen with a face that said he sincerely wanted to know about Thor's experience at work. Upon being met with the blonde's befuddled face, he gave that up with a huff and rolled his eyes.

"Can't I just be nice to you sometimes?"

"No."

"Fine, geez. Yesterday was such a shock for you, I figured I'd give you a more pleasant welcome this time."

"Still sucking up to make sure you don't lose your place on my couch?" Thor asked with a chuckle.

"Maybe." Loki shot him a glare and then turned back to his book with a sour face. Loki had woken Thor up with a full breakfast that morning. Eggs, bacon, pancakes, the works. None of which he had had the supplies for in the kitchen, which meant Loki had gotten up extra early to run to the store for it, and then come back and cook it. Which Thor had found creepy more than appreciated, to be honest. He had known his brother wasn't actually being nice to him, and had kind of wished he wasn't going to these lengths, regardless of how delicious the pancakes had been. It was just too weird.

"Well you can stop. It's freaking me out and if you keep at it, I _will_ kick you out." Loki just snorted at the larger man and sipped his tea.

As he finished putting the groceries away, Thor concluded that the whole fiasco yesterday really wasn't a big deal anymore. Yeah, it probably should have been really shocking to be told that your brother is a fucking vampire, because they were supposed to be killers and burn in the sun and all of that stuff. But apparently this had been going on for years, and no one had even known until now. So obviously Loki wasn't that different. His view of the raven haired male hadn't changed because of the whole ordeal, so for now, he really didn't care.

"What do you want for dinner?"

"I don't want to cook. Can't we go out again?"

"Oh, no. I'm not going to just give you another opportunity to lure some girl over here again." Thor snapped at him. Well, maybe he cared a little. "I'll make something."

Loki chuckled darkly at his brother, amused at how quick he was to jump to such sinister conclusion. Of course, they were completely true. The only reason Loki would willingly go into a crowd of sweaty, loud people was to hunt among them. But that was beside the point. "Cook whatever you want. I'm not hungry yet." He gave the blonde a dismissive hand gesture and snapped his book shut to switch on the tv.

Thor shrugged, Loki's eating habits having been explained to him this morning. "Fine, I'll make pasta."

Ten minutes later and there was a pot of water boiling, waiting for noodles, while Thor stood at the counter chopping vegetables. He really didn't cook often and had never had much of a skill for it, and because of this he didn't pay a whole lot of attention while doing it. He was much more interested in the show that Loki had turned on. Not something he usually watched, to be honest, but it was television and Thor was practically hardwired to watch whenever something was on.

Something someone said had him laughing a little too hard, and the resulting movement caused his hand to slip. "Shit!" He hissed as a sharp pain ripped into his palm. Upon looking down, he saw that he had nearly slit his hand open, and there was now a thick gash spreading from the base of his thumb to the opposite side of his hand. Even worse, it was bleeding profusely, and had already covered half his hand in blood that was now threatening to drip onto the vegetables. "Shit." He cursed again, more out of annoyance at the wound than the pain. Thor was tough, so aside from the initial cut it wasn't as painful as it could be. He seemed to not have gone deep enough to sever one of the many ligaments that ran through the hand, which he noted as he tested out the movement. He should definitely try to staunch the bleeding, though, because it wouldn't be too long before he started getting dizzy.

While concentrating on the wound, though, Thor hadn't seen Loki take immediate notice. He hadn't noticed his brother's nostrils flare as he inhaled deeply, filling his nose with the rich, irony scent. He hadn't seen the man's pupils dilate as all of his sense fixated at the aroma that was now permeating the air and the source from which it flowed. He hadn't noticed the fluidity with which Loki had risen from the couch without a sound, or the way he almost _stalked _over to where his brother stood, injured in the kitchen. And he hadn't heard Loki step up behind him, because the smaller man had managed to make no noise at all on the linoleum.

So when he took a step back to turn and find a towel with which to wrap his hand, Thor was met with the surprisingly solid figure of his brother behind him, slim though it was, it clearly wouldn't have budged without a fair amount of force. Thor whirled around in surprise to see Loki rooted in front of him, looking for all the world like a predator about to attack its next meal.

_Shit._ Because of course, Thor just had the absolutely incredible misfortune to slice his fucking hand open the day after everything went down. And if he was smart, he probably should be scared right now. Because nothing had physically changed, but there was definitely a darker look in his brothers eyes. A new edge to the way he stood. And how he was holding his hands up as if he were reaching for something, but forgot halfway through and never dropped them. Loki was clearly transfixed by the fluid gushing from Thor's hand, and the blonde knew that if he were someone else Loki would have pounced already.

"Loki, no." He warned his brother, pulling his hand closer to himself and further from the ravenous looking man.

"But Thor." His voice was low and bordered on shaky from having to exercise such self control.

"Damn it, Loki, didn't you get enough from that girl yesterday?"

This finally snapped the raven haired man's eyes away from the wound and up to meet Thor's gaze. "Just because you humans can live three weeks without food doesn't mean you want to."

"That's totally different! You said you only need it every two weeks."

"Yes, _need,_ Thor. _Need_ being the key word there. And it's exactly the same!" Loki fumed at him, balling up his fists in sudden frustration at being denied.

"So if you don't _need_ it, then walk away!" Thor's voice was raised now, on the verge of shouting.

"You don't understand how hard that is to do. How _intoxicating_ you are right now." He explained in a strained voice, restraining himself getting harder and harder.

Thor made a face of disgust at being described like food and turned away, making Loki shuffle to the side so he could still be in front of it. The blonde shot him a sharp glare because of this.

"Are you really going to deny me this, Thor?" Suddenly his tone was dark, and he was uncurling his fists to reach for the hand Thor was cradling. "After how you've treated me our whole life, you're going to choose now to start denying me?" He was playing on Thor's basic sympathies. An underhanded tactic, but one he had no problem reverting to. "It's my sustenance, Thor. Do you really not want to help me?"

Thor hated the words he was hearing from his brothers mouth right now, because he couldn't refute them. Loki was right, the blonde had always looked out for his brother in whatever way he could. He had always given the younger what he thought was good for him, even at his own expense. And this, well this directly tied into Loki's health. Thor couldn't just dismiss that, as much as he wanted to.

Loki saw the indecision in Thor's face and knew he had won. Too easy, really. But then again, Thor had always been the easiest. He had such large heartstrings to pull on. Loki had to hold back a smirk with his next sentence. "Tell me you can turn me away in all good conscience, and I'll walk away right now."

Thor groaned because he knew he had been beat. He would be kept up tonight wondering if it really would have made a difference, and it's not like he hadn't already lost enough blood. The girl hadn't looked hurt afterwards, right? Could it really hurt anything? "_Fine._" Thor hissed through his teeth, clearly displeased at allowing such an act but knowing it was unavoidable now.

Loki beamed in triumph and snatched Thor's hand away from his chest immediately, getting a firm hold on Thor's fingers and the outside of his wrist, facing the palm up. This close to his face the scent was assaulting him, and he was almost as incoherent as he usually would be when actually feeding. He had never noticed how absolutely _delicious_ his brother smelled, had barely even thought about taking his blood. But here he was now, and was hating himself for never having tried this before now. A good deal of the blood had dripped onto the floor and Thor's shirt while they were arguing, and the flow had slowed to what one would expect from a fairly deep scratch. Still plenty for him to work with.

Thor watched as the smaller man took a shaky breath before bringing his hand up and flicking his tongue out to lick at the now trickling wound. He heard a deep noise come from Loki's throat and could swear it had been one of pleasure. He saw pale eyelids flutter closed and felt lips press against his palm on either side of the stinging, before the flat of Loki's tongue was wiping across the expanse of the wound, collecting every drop of blood that had collected in his palm. Again he heard a sound, this one sounding more like a whimper. If he had to guess, he would have called it one of desperation. But the action was performed again and Loki remained silent, so he wasn't quite sure what the deal had been.

He didn't feel any sucking during the process, though, as he had observed his brother doing from the girl's neck. Perhaps it just wasn't as easy to suck from that location, or maybe his brother had figured he had already lost enough blood, and he shouldn't accelerate the flow more than a natural level. So Thor just stood there for another five minutes, at least, while Loki's tongue swept repeatedly over his hand, catching any fluid that came out. He learned to ignore that sensation quickly though, because it felt pretty weird for someone to lick your hand.

Eventually the wound seemed to be done bleeding, though, because Loki straightened up slowly and let him pull his hand back. His expression still looked incredibly distracted, though, and it took him a few second to look at the blonde and speak. "You should, uh, get that cleaned up. I'll finish cooking your pasta." He was quiet and sort of absentminded as he nudged Thor to the side to take his place at the counter and pick up the previously discarded knife.

"Um. Okay." The blonde responded and made his way to the bathroom, where the first aide kit was stored.

Once he pulled the kit out, Thor turned the faucet on, intending to rinse off the excess blood, only to find that his skin had been licked clean. He just stared for a few seconds, wondering how anyone could be that thorough with just their tongue. It was just one more element to add to the list of weird, though, and Thor chose not to think about that little detail right now. So five minutes later his hand was sterilized and bandaged, and upon flexing it the large man found that it didn't even hurt that badly.

He put the kit away and went back out to the kitchen, where Loki was frying the vegetables silently. He didn't say anything or look at Thor, so the blonde just sat on the couch and continued watching the television that had gotten into this mess until Loki came and gave him the finished meal.


End file.
